Reconstruction monument sites working to develop agreements with National Park Service

Reconstruction monument sites working to develop agreements with National Park Service

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Updated: 5:24 PM EST Jan 24, 2017

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WEBVTT 3BEFORE PRESIDENT OBAMA LEFT OFFICE, HE SIGNED A PROCLAMATION CREATING A MULTI-SITE RECONSTRUCTION NATIONAL MONUMENT IN THE LOWCOUNTRY. BUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? WJCL'S TORI SIMKOVIC IS LIVE IN BEAUFORT TO BREAK IT ALL DOWN FOR US.TORI?3THIS IS THE SITE OF THE OLD BEAUFORT FIRE HOUSE....A MEETING PLACE DURING THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA AND ACROSS FROM THE BUILDING WHERE FREED SLAVES FIRST REGISTERED TO VOTE. IT IS ONE OF áFOURá SITES DESIGNATED BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AS PART OF THIS MONUMENT. THE OTHERS-- PENN CENTER'S DARRAH HALL, THE BRICK BAPTIST CHURCH AND THE GROUNDS OF THE NAVAL HOSPITAL WHERE THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION WAS FIRST READ ALOUD TO SLAVES. NOW, EACH SITE WILL WORK WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TO DEVELOP AGREEMENTS ...TO DETERMINE TRANSPORTATION BETWEEN THE SITES, WHO WILL MAINTAIN THE GROUNDS, IF AND HOW UPGRADES WILL BE MADE. FOR THE CHURCH, THEY WILL COORDINATE TOUR HOURS WHILE STILL ACCOMMODATING A FULLY FUNCTIONAL CONGREGATION. THE PLANS FOR THIS MONUMENT ARE STILL IN THE EARLY PHASES. BEAUFORT MAYOR BILLY KEYSERLING SAYS HELPING BRING THE MONUMENT TO BEAUFORT MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING HE DOES AS MAYOR.3MAYOR BILLY KEYSERLING: "THIS IS A PART OF A HISTORY WE ALL SHARE, THE MORE WE UNDERSTAND IT, THE BETTER WE GRASP IT, I THINK IS GOING TO MAKE FOR A BETTER COMMUNITY." THE SITE, EXPECTED TO UNCOVER A LITTLE-UNDERSTOOD PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY... WILL ALSO BE AN ECONOMIC DRIVER FOR THE REGION.3THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WILL ALSO DESIGNATE A FULL TIME ON-SITE DIRECTOR FOR THE MONUMENT. REPORTING LIVE IN BEAUFORT TORI SIMKOVIC WJCL 22 NEWS.3

Reconstruction monument sites working to develop agreements with National Park Service

Before leaving office, President Obama signed a proclamation creating a Reconstruction National Monument in Beaufort.

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“This is a part of history that people have conveniently tried to forget,” said Dr. Rodell Lawrence, Executive Director of Penn Center.

Dr. Lawrence said he hopes the creation of the monument will help spread international awareness about Reconstruction.

“When you look back at history and you think about where were the places that blacks were trained, were taught. Well Penn Center, the Penn School, was one of the initial schools in the south for them to be taught,” Dr. Lawrence said.

Penn Center’s Darrah Hall will be one of the monument's four sites, along with the Brick Baptist Church, the old Beaufort firehouse and the Naval Hospital grounds where the Emancipation Proclamation was first read aloud to slaves.

Each site is now working to create an agreement with the National Park Service.

“How are the grounds going to be kept, who's going to do the grounds, are they going to upgrade the building? Buses are going to be coming in and out. We'll certainly have to do things to the roads,” Dr. Lawrence said.

Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling says they are still in the earliest planning phases, but he calls the creation of the monument a victory.

“I think in many ways, breaking the ice of this period may be one of the most important things I do as mayor,” Mayor Keyserling said.

The National Park Service will designate an on-site full-time director for the monument.

Next week, representatives from the National Park Service will visit each site to discuss more specific plans for the future.